Sunnyside Swap Shop closed on August 31, 2013.

Know Your Neighbor – Patient Physician Cooperative

By Karen Hery,

Maybe one of the best gifts to find out about this holiday season is genuinely easy access to affordable healthcare that doesn’t rely on who we work for or hinge on proving how much money we currently make (or don’t make) to “get” coverage. I enjoy writing all the Know Your Neighbor posts that help spread the word about local resources and especially enjoy spreading the word about places and services we may not otherwise know about.

If an adult or child you care about is without a healthcare provider other than through pay-out-of-pocket trips to urgent care clinics and the emergency room . . . this post is for you. Since I’m pretty sure all of us reading this either are this person or have at least one dear friend or family member who is this person . . . this post is for all of us.

First, there’s the tale to be told of one person deciding healthcare could be different and then, next thing you know, there’s a successful co-op in three states. OK, we all know it didn’t happen just like that, at least with out a few twists and turns along the way, but right now there is a healthcare co-op that started in Texas, expanded to North Carolina and then added over 300 people in Portland and over 70 great Portland providers that are now part of PPC/PDX – Patient Physician Co-op of Portland.

The co-op operates on these simple terms:

Join any time of the year with no preexisting condition restrictions.

$18 a month to be part of the co-op.

Access to healthcare services from PPC Physician members at rates like a medicare patient would pay (without having to qualify for medicare).

Discount prescription drug card which can save you money on prescriptions at all major pharmacies.

For a set additional fee per month (anywhere from $22 to $66) you can select a Primary Care Provider from the co-op network. This gets you a series of no co-pay visits each year with Naturopaths as well as M.D.’s. and with providers that specialize in pediatrics for your kids.

And when their are co-pays or fees for services, unlike with insurance, in the co-op there is no 3rd party interference between you and your PPC provider.All decisions about your healthcare are made between you and your provider only, no one else.

And when you reach outside of the co-op, there is a patient advocate who is on your side should you be hospitalized and facing large, unmanageable charges.

Basically – this is healthcare coverage that fills the gap between nothing at all and that elusive full coverage that not all of us have access to even when we might think we do.

Add catastrophic health care coverage through one of PPC’s affiliates and, between your co-op membership and the insurance, you have the equivalent of full insurance coverage done in a totally different way for less than most “regular” insurance companies family rates.

I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Morgan and Tony, two of the key people making this co-op possible. They will be at Red and Black Cafe at SE 12th and Oak this Wednesday, Nov 21st at 7pm answering questions about the co-op. They also plan to be at our Roost family night dinner bringing friends who might be interested in being swap shop families and, in a low key way, being available to answer any questions we have about joining a healthcare co-op. Or you can just call Morgan (Member Services) for general information at971 313 8354anytime!

Their other main partner, Lisa, provides registration assistance every Wednesday in the lobby of the National College of Naturopathic Medicine on SW Corbett Ave (just across the Ross Island Bridge) every Wednesday 12-2. You can just show up or call Lisa for an appt.503-688-9397.

People we are getting to know who can help people we know have better healthcare. That’s a Know Your Neighbor moment for sure!